Birmingham chief says Wrexham clash should have been played in USA (original) (raw)
Birmingham City CEO Garry Cook has revealed that he would have been in favour of playing Monday night's League One fixture against Wrexham in the United States instead
Jay Stansfield scored twice for Birmingham as they beat Wrexham in the 'Hollywood Derby'
Birmingham chief executive Garry Cook believes it would have been "a great idea" to play their League One fixture with Wrexham in the United States.
The Blues beat their promotion rivals 3-1 at St. Andrew's on Monday night in front of minority investor Tom Brady, who was flanked by David Beckham. Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney was also at the match, which garnered huge international interest.
Since being taken over by McElhenney and Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, Wrexham have amassed a big following in the US, while Brady's involvement at Birmingham has also caught the eye overseas.
And given both teams' popularity on the other side of the Atlantic, Cook feels their would have been a case to play the match in America after speculation in the summer.
When the possibility was put to him, he told Match of The Day: “Well personally I think that is a great idea but I think the EFL wouldn’t see it that way and I think the history and tradition of our sport and our league tries to ensure that doesn’t happen. That doesn’t stop making it a global game even though you are playing here in Birmingham and everybody’s looking forward to it. That doesn’t mean it isn’t going to be a big game.”
While Cook may be on board with such an idea, reports outlining the possibility of said EFL fixture being played abroad was met with a furious backlash in the summer.
Monday night's match attracted a sell-out crowd in Birmingham, who won 3-1 after falling behind to an early Jack Marriott goal. A brace from the club's record £15million signing Jay Stansfield and a fine strike from Tomoki Iwata was enough to condemn Wrexham to their first league defeat of the season, though, as their hosts turned things around.
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Birmingham CEO Garry Cook would have been all for playing the fixture in America (
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Birmingham City Football Club)
Despite their maiden loss, Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson remained upbeat, with his side still top of the league on goal difference.
He said: “Their [first] goal knocked us too much. And then we didn’t judge the ball quick enough for the next two goals – and if you give time to the quality of players Birmingham have got they will produce quality.
“But for us as a group it’s a good learning curve. We’ve hardly conceded a goal this season, we’ve not been behind in a game, but we have been behind in pivotal games over the last few years and we have responded better than we did here.”
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